A Reincarnated Demon’s Life of Wonder

"*Cough*, okay, I'm not going to pretend like I'm a master of speeches, so I'll make it quick. Great work surviving this period that has been nothing less than a real war, albeit a small one. If you have any grudges to your new allies, forget about them. Those are unproductive, nor would they honor your, our, fallen comrades. Then, without further ado, cheers!" - Garami

"Cheers!"

And with that, the party was started for real. I mean, you have to have one after conquering one, two... six different Dungeons in less than a month. Oh, thinking about it, they were all different types. What a coincidence. 

Everyone is partying with the goods I had prepared from Earth. At this rate, I'll be offered to give the Dungeon a Sweets Shop theme when it reaches Lv.10. Oh, and the undead in the underground floors have also been given sweets. Same with the guards on duty. Rather, we won't be able to fit everyone on the oasis floor. Huh, when did we become the most crowded division of the organization?

As I looked at the monsters who were having a blast (some even blasted fire in the sky as fireworks), I retired to the... "shack" that had been built in the shadow of a large rock. Really, it's too luxurious to be called a shack. It's got a throne made of marble and with pillows (made by me), a refrigerator that works on Ice Crystals, and an automatic fan. I'm a hedonist of a demon~.

But hey, I'm the guy who has to work despite there being a party going on.

There's the problem of turning the sixth (former temple) Dungeon into something decent, swapping the last floors (except the Underground Lake) of the first Dungeon with the Fallen Church floor-type, finding a way to lure victims into the seventh (volcano) Dungeon...

I give up. Can't think. I've been overworked lately. Especially with the mess regarding the Fire Dragon. The sweets-trap also required me to hurriedly produce Camouflage Cloaks that we used to hide in the water with. I want a vacation...

"Ga~ra~mi~." - Noire

"No gatcha." - Garami

"Why gatcha?" - Noire

"Oh, sorry. Thought it was Mira." - Garami

"That shameless girl... in any case, I have a request, no, I wish that I want to be granted." - Noire

What is it this time!?

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Garami's Status Page:

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The next day:

"The wind feels awesome!!" - Lily

We're riding the Mercenary, which had only been used for scouting lately, and flew through the desert.

Our target? There is none! Except having fun!

"I needed this..." - Noire

"To think that even the genius Fallen Flugel needs a vacation." - Garami

"I am still a person... and why do you always call me a genius? Not that I dislike it~." - Noire

It seems I wasn't the only one who was feeling burned out. Noire had asked to take a day off, which reached Flint's ears and made him wanna join, and Lily jumped at the opportunity herself. 

"Do you two even need a vacation?" - Noire

"Sure am. You know how stressful it is in living on the run?" said Flint with a calm face. He must have had his own demons to fight with this whole time.

"And it's crampy in the caves! And the food's horrible!" - Lily

Bet that last part is your real reason for wanting to get out. After being served Sphinx-beef and Wyvern-burgers among other stuff...

"You know there are no restaurants out here, right?" - Garami

"EEEHH!?" - Lily

"We're not going to Shaharin?" - Flint

"You said you wanted some cloth from there, did you not?" - Noire

...Crap. Busted.

"Ga-ra-miiii!!" - Lily

"Fine, FINE! I'll treat you to something, so don't shake me around while I'm driving!" - Garami

Just as I said that while prying the hungry chimera off me-

*Dump!*

I knew it! A speed... or not. I hit a bad dump of sand that sent the floatship up in the air, and-

*Dunk!*

"Garami! Watch the road while driving!" - Flint

"I am! By Lily was... where is she?" - Garami

"...The sky..." - Noire

Aw, crap. She was the only one without a safety belt. I did wonder how she could grab me when she was supposed to be sitting in the back.

"HEEEELP MEEEEE!!" - Lily (crying)

Alright, it's time for Garami's three seconds rescuing. First, you throw some Spider Lord's threads towards the area the no-brained glutton is falling to while braking the floatship. Then, with some [Thread Control], grab the flailing idiot, and threw her into the backseat. Think I beat the time record~.

"Th-that wash shcaryyy!" - Lily (crying for real)

"Think of it as punishment for disturbing the driver. Sit still, or you'll lose your right to vote where we're going to eat. And fasten your seatbelt." - Garami

"*Sniff*, fine..." - Lily (still crying)

*Snap*

? What was that? I turned around and saw Lily holding her chest... oh. 

"...Excuse me." - Lily

Lily got down below to the storage area with a blank look on her face. Noire on the other hand looked like she had swallowed a bitter bug... before starting to bang her head against the railing. Hey, don't hurt the ship!

"What's going on?" - Flint

"Lily is in her 'growing season'." - Garami

"...She's been getting too many 'high-classed' meals?" - Flint

"More like 'high-ranked'. It's good timing. Let's take a break to stretch our legs." - Garmi

I parked the Mercenary for real and let Lily take her time to change clothes... and Noire to wake up from her headache. She needs to accept that there are people better than her out there... or at least accept her superiority in the fields of craftsmanship instead of trying to conquer fruitless fields.

"Hey, what's the deal with chimera-girl?" - Flint

Flint came to me and asked while I was walking around the Mercenary.

"What parts of her?" - Garami

"...Well, everything, considering her race... but explain that just now for starters." - Flint

"Probably from the former Dungeon Master of Dungeon #3." - Garami

"The one with the open lake... and what does that even mean?" - Flint

"It means the former Dungeon Master was of a Lamia-species that all had 'mature' body-types. And you asked about that first? You're a man indeed." - Garami

"Shut it. If they're not scaley, I'm not interested." - Flint

"I think Lily has some though?" - Garami

"I'm talking about real scale-holders. And that Revi-girl is out of the question as well." - Flint

Glad he told me that. I don't want either of them to connect with a troublemaker like this guy.

"If I ever get the snake-line added to the Dungeon, I'll introduce some to you." - Garami

"I would rather have some dwarfs or the like to help me with the forge." - Flint

"...Are you married to your job?" - Garami

"I can't deny that." - Flint

Greaaat... 

"More importantly, why didn't the girl fly when she was falling?" - Flint

"Flying?" - Garami

"People noticed at the party yesterday when the girl jumped into the water. She's got a pair of small, bat-like wings. The Lesser Fiends looked somewhat embarrassed over them for some reason..." - Flint

"Ah, that. They should. Those are probably the result of what their dead brethren left behind." - Garami

"......" - Flint

Crap, it looks like he's gonna explode. Gotta add some more info.

"Before the triple-attack on the three Dungeons, including you bamboo-forest, I asked all the monstrous subordinates if they could give a hand even if they fell in battle." - Garami

"...So that's it. From those that were killed..." - Flint

"I'm not heartless enough to kill my created subordinates just to power a single chimera. It's not cost-effective either." - Garami

"Fine. If they were already dead, then I've got no reason to complain." - Flint

Phew, safe. 

"As for why the wings didn't work, I think it's because Lily's current species is not that of a chimera that can use the wings yet." - Garami

"Oh?" - Flint

"If she evolved into a bird-type Living Chimera, then they may grow to a size that can carry her." - Garami

"Even the all famous Living Chimera have limitations to work with." - Flint

"That's about it." - Garami

"What monsters is she 'lacking' though?" - Flint

"Only the Lesser Mimics, if we're not including the evolved monsters. Dark Elves and Zerbreuses, humanoid demons, can't give her any abilities, as they're less than 50% monsters as opposed to the Lesser Fiends, and the undead are impossible from the start." - Garami

"Hmm, they are undead and Living Chimera after all." - Flint

Oh, he came to the same conclusion as me? Glad that I recruited him. Only having Mira who can follow my line of thoughts can be stressful sometimes.

"Hey, Noire is out cold up here~." - Lily

Crap, that was close. She didn't hear us, right?

"Did something happen?" - Flint

"No... where you talking about me?" - Lily

"Y-yeah! About the fact that you don't need to worry about Revi's experimental cooking anymore!" Garami

"Really!? Yahoo!!" - Lily

Phew, she didn't hear us...

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Lily's Status Page:

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We kept on moving after Noire woke up. Soon, we saw the Stone Highway, a local oddity that's shaped like a large bridge, providing safe and easy travels to people due to its height, and is a straightforward way to Shaharin, the city of cloth. Just which Migrant named this place...?

"There are people around the entrance." - Garami

"Aren't they waiting in line?" - Lily

"No, the road is free, but the people aren't moving," said Flint after putting down the binoculars. 

We closed in on the entrance of the Highway and discovered that the people waiting were a caravan of Desert Elf. The blond hair and the tan skin says it all, plus some help from Identification.

"Hey. is everything alright?" - Flint

"Hmm? Are you travelers as well? The Highway's blocked now, so you should just make yourself comfortable for a few days." answered one of the elder caravan members.

"Why so?" - Lily

"A Desert Cleaner has taken the whole Highway. We can't walk around it, and we don't know why it is doing so, nor when it will leave." 

"Desert Cleaner?" - Garami

"A type of worm-creatures that lives in the desert. They eat cadavers and monsters while also cleaning the desert sand for pollution and bad aether, making the something akin to a sacred animal for the desert people." - Flint

In other words, if I start killing it and converted its corpse for blueprints, or stuffed Lily with it, we would get a bad name with literally everyone native to the desert. Tch.

"Is mister Cleaner that big? The Highway can take several carriages at the same time..." - Lily

What's a "mister Cleaner"?

"Garami, how about you go and take a look? You're good with Identification, aren't you?" - Flint

"...Better than most, probably..., is it safe?" I asked the elderly elf.

"Why, yes. The Desert Cleaner only harms monsters. It never lays a hand or feeler on humans or normal animals." 

"What about demons?" - Garami

"Demons? That should be alright, assuming they are humanoid demons." 

"Should", eh...

"W-what about chimeras!" - Lily

"Chimeras? Well... maybe?" 

"I'm watching over the ship!!" - Lily

"...And I'll watch over the watcher." - Flint

"Really? I can take your place if you want." - Noire

"I've seen a Cleaner before, and believe me, it's a sight you need to see once in your life if you're planning to live in the desert." - Flint

Let's take a look at this celebrity then. One of the younger elves volunteered to guide us. The road up to the Highway ain't that big, but I still envy Noire's wings this time around...

"...Wow." - Garami

"Wow indeed..." - Noire

A huge, purple-skinned earthworm was lying on the Highway, covering the whole road with its body. Is it a size bigger than the Lesser Boitata from the Sea Tree Isle? The trunk of its body is definitely bigger, at least.

It lacks eyes, but it's got a normal mouth, and it's got lots of feelers covering it, which gives it the appearance of having a beard. It's also got thin hairs all over its body, but one wouldn't notice unless one's eyes are good, and you looked very carefully.

And it's not only big. There's something about it that radiates, I don't know, an aura of... something. Experience? Old age? Divinity? No, not the last one. More like, it has the appearance of an old being... even if it's only a big earthworm. What's up with this guy?

Okay, that's waaaay too much min-maxing! What's up with that stat-sheet!? And this guy even got classes! They're those, right? Those "Monster classes" that certain, high-ranked monsters with an incredible rep and power are granted as a reward, compliments from the Lesser Gods, right? Those Master-tier classes...

"Noire, act with respect. We're standing in front of someone incredible." - Garami

"Huh? Why are you suddenly so polite?" - Noire

Didn't you hear what I said!! Act with more... "Wounded"?

"Hey, I think he's got a wound somewhere. A nasty one as well." - Garami

"Then, he must have come here to prevent sand from irritating the wound?" - Noire

"Probably. Hey, you," I asked the young elf, "this guy's alright with us healing his wound so he can leave the place? It won't attack us all of a sudden?" 

"W-why yes. The Desert Cleaner is a creature we respect and is given respect back in return."

"...And if there's no respect?" - Garami

"Then... well..."

"Ah, I get it, you don't need to say anything. Noire, you're free to go." - Garami

"Me? Garami knows Healing magic as well." - Noire

"Do I have wings that can be used to look for the wound on that big thing?" - Garami

"...That is true." - Noire 

And with that, Noire started to fly around the Cleaner until she stopped all of a sudden at the worm's right side.

"Garami, I need a hand here." - Noire

Huh? Why?

I walked on the edge of the Highway that wasn't covered by the bigass worm and... wow.

"That's one nasty wound." - Garami

A large, X-shaped wound was on the side of the worm. Dark-purple fumes or something seems to be coming from the wound as well. It could be easily be excused for a cursed wound from the appearance alone. Luckily for this Guardian Deity, it's not. Still, with a wound this big and deep, just one or two healing spells won't do it.

"I get the problem. Take the left-part of the wound, then I'll try to heal the right side." - Garami

"Roger!" - Noire

And with that, the operation was in motion! It's not something too difficult. We first cleaned the wound with Cleaning, then used our respective healing spells we had the best affinity with. Darkness Rejuvenation for me, and Sacred Relife for Noire. Soon, the wound closed with only a slight scar still visible... on my side. Noire had done her part flawlessly. Tch...

"Ehem~." - Noire

"Yes, yes, you're the best healer. Hurrah." - Garami

I gave some cheep praises to Noire as we saw the worm moving away from the Highway by jumping off it... hey, you're just recovered from your previous wound. Don't go and get a new one...

"Hey, what do you think wounded that big guy anyway?" - Garami

"How would I know?" - Noire

Yeah, that's right-

"However... I feel like I have seen that wound from somewhere before." - Noire

Please don't let it be what I think it is...

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Noire's Status Page:

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We rode the Highway without further problems and soon reached Shararin. If I had to describe it, it would be a city taken from the stories of the One Thousand and One Nights. You know, the old, Arabian kind. Some of the buildings are reinforced with metal and wood, so it's not a 100% match to the stories though. There's also something akin to streetlights placed over the place, with some crystals to replace the lightbulbs. 

And most notably, there are colorful robes of cloth decorating the whole city. I Identified some, and they're of a higher quality than what I can make. I've got confidence in threads, but cloth like these are outta my reach.

"This is impressive indeed." - Garami

I couldn't stop myself from saying that out loud as I walked out in the streets after parking the Mercenary in the floatship port.

"It is the greatest mecca for textile on the continent after all." - Flint

No wonder. I've heard rumors about it in Velantas, but this is more than I could even imagine. Glad that I told Mira and Alf that we were gonna stay a few days. It's gonna take a while to go through all this.

"Where's the other two?" - Garami

"They said something about spotting a nice inn and went ahead." - Flint

Tch, we're getting lower and lower on money after having to convert them into CP. Don't reduce my wallet even more! That's what I'm gonna buy cloth with!

It took... not so long time, as we entered the most fancy-looking place. Rather, this is a real hotel, right? No way it can be classified as an inn. And I can see the two at the reception disk. Crap, Noire saw me.

"Garami! They say that the place is reserved by just two people and refuses to give us some rooms!" - Noire

"C-customer, as I said, the visitor is of-" 

"I've got no room, so don't go 'customer' with me!" - Noire

Even her polite language has left for realms unknown. Stop bothering the poor receptionist guy.

"Excuse me, is the one who reserved the place a noble from Solomar?" - Garami

"Yes, how did you know?" 

"Eh?" - Noire

"...Could you please take us to them. They are people we are related to." - Garami

"Well... if it is only meeting them..." 

Probably not wanting Noire to explode at him again, the young receptionist led us to the back, where a massive pool was built. Yup, a hotel indeed. By the poolside, we could see two persons. One dressed in smart-looking clothes, and the other... got Noire to freeze up when she laid her eyes on her.

Hello there, boss.